A process for hydrolyzing a mixture of organoalkoxysiloxanes at an elevated temperature to form organopolysiloxanes is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,321 to Nugent et al. Compared to the processes known heretofore, the process of this invention has the advantage that it provides a means for controlling the hydrolysis of the alkoxy groups and thus makes it easier to regulate the molecular weight of the resulting polysiloxane. Furthermore the process of this invention does not require a long heating period under reflux which was required in the prior processes. Therefore, the process of this invention does not require the energy which was required in the prior processes. Also, the process of this invention saves considerable time since the catalyst need not be neutralized before the product can be used. Finally, in the process of this invention the alcohol which is split off during the hydrolysis can be recovered more easily than has been possible heretofore.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved process for preparing organopolysiloxanes. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved process for increasing the molecular weight of silicon compounds. Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved process for controlling the molecular weight of organopolysiloxanes. A further object of this invention is to provide an improved process for preparing organopolysiloxanes without having to neutralize the catalyst.